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LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Gl  FT    OF 


Class 


PROPOSED  PLANS  FOR 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  of 
THE  CITY  OF  DENVE 


CHARLES  MULFORD  ROBINSON 


ART  COMMISSION 

CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  DENVER 

JANUARY,  1906 


Proposed  Plans  for 
the  Improvement  of 
(Tne  City  of  Denver 


164292 


To  the  Mayor,,  the  City  Council.,  and  the  Members  of  the  Art  Com- 
mission of  the  City  and  County  of  Denver : 

Gentlemen : 

In  accordance  with  the  request  lately  extended  to  me,  I  have 
made  an  examination  of  the  City  and  County  of  Denver,  with  a  view 
to  recommending  such  changes  as  seem  to  me  important,  in  order  that 
Denver  may  more  fully  realize  its  opportunities  for  civic  beauty.  With 
the  glory  of  its  panorama  of  mountains,  this  city  should  not  be  content 
to  be  merely  "The  Queen  City  of  the  Plains."  With  its  superb  site, 
with  the  push,  enterprise,  courage  and  liberality  that  has  come  to  be 
considered  characteristic  of  its  citizens,  Denver  has  easily  in  its  grasp 
a  higher  destiny.  It  can  so  assure  its  future  that  it  may  now  take,  and 
expect  to  hold  a  place  in  the  front  rank  of  the  world's  noble  cities. 
That  it  will  do  this,  I  cannot  doubt,  and  I  am  proud  to  have  had  this 
opportunity  to  connect  my  name  with  its  development. 

The  Charter's  provision  for  an  Art  Commission  is  one  of  the 
evidences  that  there  is  the  right  sort  of  aspiration  here;  the  Com- 
mission's wish  to  secure  a  scheme  of  artistic  development  for  the 
city  to  work  toward,  is  evidence  of  the  practical  nature  of  its  desire, 
and  in  no  other  city  have  I  ever  found  such  complete  unanimity  of 
sentiment  among  all  classes  of  citizens — rich  and  poor  alike — as  I 
have  found  here  in  the  purpose  to  make  Denver  beautiful,  in  loyalty 
to  the  city's  interests,  in  wish  to  do  something  really  worth  while. 
That  this  has  been  an  inspiration,  doubling  my  interest  in  the  work, 
I  do  not  need  to  say. 

In. planning  for  the  development  of  a  city's  attractiveness  and 
beauty,  it  is  most  desirable  to  maintain  its  individuality — so  far  as 
this  is  of  a  worthy  type — and  to  emphasize  the  expression  of  its  spe- 

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cial  purpose,  if  this  be  interesting  and  sufficiently  characteristic. 
Now  Denver,  whatever  its  incidental  and  particular  claims,  is  notable, 
(1)  for  its  union  of  delightful  climate  and  superb  mountain  views, 
and  (2)  because  it  is  the  capital  seat  of  Colorado.  As  to  the  first 
point,  the  climate  is  not  affected  by  the  city's  growth,  except  as  smoke 
may  dull  the  brilliant  sunshine,  or  as  the  use  of  water,  in  artificial 
irrigation  may  lessen  the  climate's  danger  to  vegetation ;  while  serious 
consideration  for  natural  scenery,  important  as  this  asset  of  the  city 
is,  can  scarcely  be  expected  in  urban  growth  except  in  the  public 
reservations — in  the  choice  and  landscape  treatment,  that  is,  of  the 
park  areas  that  are  especially  set  aside  to  safeguard  and  heighten  the 
city's  beauty.  But  upon  the  significance  of  the  municipality  as  the 
capital  of  the  state,  we  have  a  right  to  expect  all  the  emphasis  that 
street  plan  and  artistic  development  can  place.  Whatever  else  Den- 
ver may  be,  it  is  the  capital  of  Colorado,  and  it  is  under  an  obligation 
to  the  State  and  to  itself  proudly  to  proclaim  that  fact  and  in  all  its 
development  to  assert  it. 

The  site  of  the  State  House,  considered  simply  by  itself,  is  very 
fine.  It  is  central,  commanding  in  its  relative  height,  and  affords  a 
noble  view  of  the  mountains — a  view,  by  the  way,  that  city  or  state 
should  take  measures  to  protect.  The  erection  of  a  building  of  even 
four  or  five  stories  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway,  opposite  the  Cap- 
itol grounds,  would  cut  the  view  from  the  terrace  on  which  the  State 
House  stands.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  a  building  ordinance,  re- 
stricting the  height  of  structures  erected  on  that  property,  with  allow- 
ance to  the  property  owners  for  damages  for  such  restriction,  would 
be  the  cheapest  and  yet  an  effective  method  of  safeguarding  the  view. 
Such  an  ordinance,  enacted  by  the  city  of  Boston  for  the  buildings 
surrounding  Copley  Square,  in  order  that  the  Public  Library  and 
Trinity  Church  might  not  be  dwarfed  by  skyscrapers,  has  lately  been 
sustained  by  the  highest  court  of  the  State.  If  the  city  would  agree 
to  enact  such  an  ordinance,  I  think  the  State,  as  the  directly  benefited 
party,  might  well  afford  to  pay  the  damages. 

Returning  to  consideration  of  the  Capitol  site,  I  find  it,  with 

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all  its  inherent  advantages,  very  defective  in  that  it  is  totally  out  of 
relation  with  that  portion  of  the  Denver  street  plan  with  which  it 
properly  ought  to  harmonize.  Both  site  and  building  are  at  an  angle 
with  the  Congressional  Grant  on  which  the  business  part  of  Denver 
may  be  considered  as  permanently  located,  and  which  comes  directly 
to  the  border  of  the  grounds.  In  fact,  the  problem  presented  at  this 
point,  which  should  be  made  the  nucleus  of  any  improvement  scheme, 
is  very  difficult,  for  not  only  is  the  Capitol  out  of  relation  now  with 
the  part  of  the  city  with  which  it  most  needs  intimate  connection, 
but  not  one  of  the  adjacent  public  buildings  harmonizes  in  position 
with  its  neighbors.  Capitol,  Court  House,  and  proposed  Library 
face  each  a  different  way  and  stand  at  a  different  angle.  To  work 
these  into  a  single  comprehensive  scheme,  seemed  at  first  a  discour- 
aging task,  but  the  great  desirability  of  such  a  result  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  city  was  a  strong  incentive,  and  the  generally  poor 
character  of  the  intermediate  private  construction  gave  an  oppor- 
tunity for  more  radical  changes  than  one  might,  have  anticipated  in 
so  central  an  area  that  had  been  neglected  until  so  late. 

The  plan  that  I  have  worked  out,  and  for  which  I  urge  your  fa- 
vorable consideration  with  all  the  strength  I  possess  and  with  appeal 
to  your  love  of  Denver,  your  pride  and  faith  in  the  city,  and  your 
interest  in  its  future,  is  as  follows: 

Extend  Sixteenth  Street  to  the  Capitol  Grounds,  so  restoring  to 
that  important  business  thoroughfare  the  State  House  vista  of  which 
it  has  now  been  partly  robbed  and  which  the  erection  of  a  high  build- 
ing would  entirely  take  away.  Purchase  the  land  lying  between 
Fifteenth  and  Sixteenth  Streets  and  Court  and  Cheyenne  Places, 
not  quite  two  full" blocks,  and,  most  fortunately,  but  little  improved. 
This  will  open  the  vista  between  Court  House  and  State  House.  On 
the  edges  of  this  tract,  Sixteenth  and  Fifteenth  Streets  should  be  con- 
tinued as  thoroughfares,  paved  and  lighted  as  in  their  lower  sections. 
At  the  inner  building  line,  all  structures  having  been  removed  on 
the  reserved  area,  there  should  be  planted  a  row  of  trees,  so  maintain- 
ing the  entity  of  each  street  and  pleasantly  shading  the  walk  on  each 

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street's  inner  side.  In  extending  Sixteenth  Street  across  the  vacant 
lot  east  of  Broadway,  there  would  be  left  a  triangle  at  the  junction  of 
Broadway  and  Coif  ax.  This  also  should  be  purchased,  thus  com- 
pleting on  this  side  an  open  parallelogram  from  the  State  House 
grounds  to  the  Court  House.  On  each  side  of  the  whole  reserved 
strip,  a  second  row  of  trees  should  then  be  planted,  parallel  with  the 
street  line  rows,  but  placed  so  far  inward  as  to  extend  the  end  lines 
of  the  Court  House  building.  This  will  apparently  narrow  the  re- 
served strip,  and  will  serve  as  a  definite  connection  between  State 
House  and  Court  House. 

The  development  of  this  inner  strip  demands  a  treatment  that 
shall  be  not  merely  attractive,  but  distinctive,  and  because  of  its 
architectural  significance,  definitely  formal  in  character.  I  there- 
fore recommend  that  in  the  triangle  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Broad- 
way, bounded  by  Broadway,  Colfax  and  the  extended  Sixteenth  Street, 
there  be  placed  a  circular  basin,  in  the  middle  of  which  a  jet  of  water 
shall  rise  into  the  air.  The  pressure  at  this  point  will  provide,  if 
desired,  a  jet  of  some  seventy  feet,  making  one  of  the  simplest  but  most 
effective  of  fountains,  its  slim  height  appropriate  to  its  function  in 
emphasizing  the  axis  of  the  parallelogram,  while  the  splash  of  its 
water  and  the  kiss  of  its  spray  will  be  a  cool,  refreshing  and  charm- 
ing feature  in  the  long  summer  months.  The  water  thus  constantly 
freshened  in  the  basin  should  then,  I  suggest,  be  carried  under  Broad- 
way by  pipe,  to  serve  the  public  again  in  an  oblong  basin  extending 
nearly  from  Broadway  to  the  Court  House.  This  basin  should  be  of 
concrete.  The  water  need  not  be  over  twelve  or  eighteen  inches  in 
depth,  and  in  my  design  I  have  suggested  a  slight  irregularity  at  the 
middle  of  the  basin's  side  lines,  so  that  in  a  curving,  balustraded  pro- 
jection on  either  side,  there  may  be  offered  a  vantage  point  whence 
the  play  of  light  and  shadow,  the  reflection  of  the  great  buildings,  or 
the  frolic  of  wind  ripples  in  the  water,  may  be  enjoyed. 

The  whole  would  be  a  landscape  development  novel  in  Denver, 
wholly  appropriate  to  the  purpose,  and  no  more  expensive  to  main- 
tain than  would  be  a  strip  of  greensward.  Even  in  the  winter,  it 

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might  be  continued  by  turning  steam  into  the  basin  from  the  Court 
House  or  other  adjacent  building. 

For  the  lighting  of  this  bit  of  public  garden,  I  have  suggested 
two  lights  on  each  side  of  the  basin,  at  the  point  where  the  projection 
comes.  These,  with  the  regular  lights  of  the  streets  bordering  the 
plat,  and  two  ornamental  lights  before  the  entrance  to  the  Court 
House,  would  be  sufficient;  for  the  ideal  in  the  illumination  of  this 
area  should  be  not  brilliancy,  but  such  shadow  and  mystery  as  may 
be  ventured  without  endangering  safety  and  morality. 

But  far  more  important  than  the  charm  of  these  details  would 
be  the  scheme's  general  effect,  and  I  urge  each  one  of  you,  or  any 
hesitating  citizen  of  Denver,  to  stand  on  the  Capitol  terrace  and  look 
but  over  the  ground  that  it  is  proposed  to  take.  Imagine  the  low 
buildings  now  littering  this  area  removed,  and,  in  their  place,  an 
open  esplanade  revealing  the  Court  House,  and  bringing  not  it  alone, 
but  the  whole  down  town  street  plan,  into  harmonious  relation  with 
the  Capitol.  This  would  be  something  worth  while,  and  a  result 
worthy  of  the  greater  Denver. 

And  if  the  time  should  come  when  the  City  Hall,  architecturally 
unfitted  to  the  present  city,  and  somewhat  inconveniently  located, 
is  to  be  replaced  by  a  better  structure,  and  combined,  as  doubtless  it 
then  would  be,  with  a  new  Court  House,  you  would  have  the  posi- 
tion ready  for  it  at  the  end  of  the  esplanade,  where  the  present  County 
building  stands.  You  would  be  able  to  raise  here  a  noble  building, 
adding  its  quota  to  the  effect. 

Yet  even  this  is  not  quite  all  the  plan.  Work  is  shortly  to  begin 
on  the  erection  of  a  very  beautiful  building  lor  the  Public  Library. 
The  selected  site,  though  hardly  a  stone's  throw  from  this  improve- 
ment scheme,  and  within  a  short  block  of  the  Capitol  Park,  is  on  the 
side  of  a  street,  so  wanting  in  opportunity  for  perspective  and  so  in- 
different to  the  neighboring  public  structures,  that  very  mediocre 
little  buildings  would  soon  completely  hide  from  view  its  beautiful 
facade.  By  securing  the  small  triangle  opposite  the  Library  site — 
that  is,  the  area  bounded  by  Colfax,  Cleveland  Place,  and  Fifteenth 

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Street — the  library  front  will  be  revealed,  and  there  will  be  a  two- 
fold gain:  (1)  In  an  enhancement  of  the  attractiveness  of  the  park- 
way through  bringing  into  its  scope  this  handsome  structure,  and 
(2)  of  the  Library  itself  by  vastly  increasing  its  effectiveness  through 
creating  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  it.  I  would  then  urge  that  the 
portion  of  a  block  between  the  east  end  of  the  Library  and  Broadway, 
be  added  to  the  city's  holdings  and  laid  out  with  turf  and  trees,  that 
these  new  and  handsome  public  buildings  may  have  their  proper  set- 
ting, and  may  take  their  place  in  this  improvement  that  will  affect 
so  stunning  a  change  in  the  heart  of  Denver. 

A  plot  of  ground  remains  between  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth 
Streets,  extending  to  Cleveland  Place,  the  development  of  which 
must  strongly  influence  the  aspect  of  the  whole  improvement.  Be- 
cause it  is  thus  vitally  important,  I  want  the  new  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  Auditorium,  if  they  be  combined  in  a  single  building,  or 
the  Auditorium  alone  if  the  union  is  not  effected,  placed  here.  We 
may  then  be  sure  that  a  building  erected  with  regard  for  the  artistic 
interests  of  the  city,  and  a  Public  Building,  would  occupy  this  very 
important  site.  That  is  fairly  the  people's  due.  By  the  closing,  if 
necessary,  of  this  part  of  Court  Place,  the  plat  could  be  made  of  any 
area  desired,  while  the  location  is  central,  convenient  in  tramway 
facilities,  exceptionally  free  from  fire  danger  because  of  the  open 
spaces  around  it,  and  these  spaces  would  further  facilitate  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  issuing  crowd  to  the  avoidance  of  a  congestion  of 
traffic. 

Note.  It  has  since  become  evident  that  the  foregoing  provision  of 
a  site  for  the  Auditorium,  indicated  by  shading  in  the  accompanying 
diagram,  will  not  be  required  for  that  purpose.  (Art  Commission.) 

On  the  Sixteenth  Street  side  of  the  improvement,  in  the  square 
opposite  the  Court  House,  there  would  be  a  convenient  site  for  the 
proposed  new  Post  Office.  Another  satisfactory  site,  if  there  were 
a  willingness  to  cross  Broadway,  would  be  the  south  portion  of  the 
Sixteenth  Street  block  between  Broadway  and  Lincoln.  As  the  mat- 
ter of  the  new  Post  Office  at  this  writing  is  somewhat  in  the  air,  the 

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thing  that  counts  is  simply  that  the  plan  offers  several  convenient 
sites  that  would  bring  the  Federal  Building  into  the  group  scheme. 

One  other  detail  remains  to  be  noted.  A  large  sum  has  been 
raised  for  the  Pioneers'  Monument,  and  it  is  proposed  that  it  shall 
be  a  beautiful  and  worthy  work.  I  suggest,  for  the  heightening  of 
its  effectiveness  and  to  bring  it  into  harmony  with  the  scheme,  that 
it  be  placed  a  little  west  of  the  site  of  the  present  fire  house,  which 
is  not  on  the  axis  of  anything,  and  be  so  situated  as  to  center  on  the 
Library,  the  Auditorium,  and  the  Park  scheme.  It  would  then  be 
one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  complete  plan.  Of  course, 
the  fire  house,  which  stands  on  what  is  already  city  property,  would 
come  down,  and  its  little  space  be  incorporated  in  the  general  plan. 

I  append,  as  a  part  of  my  report,  a  diagram  of  the  scheme.  The 
immense  gain  that  such  a  scheme  would  mean  to  Denver  scarcely 
needs  exposition.  Very  few  cities  in  the  country  would  have  its  like ; 
and  in  none,  perhaps,  is  it  possible  to  gain  so  great  a  result  so  easily. 
Around  this  area  would  gather  high  class  hotels  and  apartment 
houses;  and  if  the  wide  break  forced  the  extension  of  the  business 
district  to  the  northward,  there  yet  would  be  compensations  to  the 
property  adjacent  on  south  and  east  in  the  value  that  it  would  gain 
through  the  increased  attractiveness  of  the  broad  space.  I  cannot 
doubt  that  the  improvement  would  quickly  pay  for  itself,  as  far  as 
the  city  is  concerned,  in  the  increased  assessable  value  of  property 
nearby,  for  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  plan  is  that 
at  this  time  it  necessitates  the  acquisition  of  no  costly  building.  There 
would  be  little  more  than  the  land  to  pay  for,  and  of  that,  a  third  at 
least,  I  judge,  is  already  public  property  in  street  areas,  etc. 

From  what  I  can  learn,  it  seems  probable  that  two  million  dol- 
lars, or  very  little  more,  would  pay  for  the  whole  scheme,  if  carried 
out  at  once.  This  does  not  include  the  Auditorium  site,  since  that 
is  to  be  purchased  anyway.  For  this  outlay  of  two  millions — cer- 
tainly no  staggering  sum  for  Denver — there  would  be  received  what 
ten  millions  would  not  buy  a  few  years  hence,  and  you  would  get  back 
not  only,  in  a  short  time  doubtless,  the  whole  sum  expended,  but  a 

s 


satisfaction,  enjoyment,  and  pride  in  this  better  Denver,  that  to  all 
the  citizens  would  be  at  once  worth  many  times  the  little  cost  per 
capita.  It  is  worth  while  to  pay  a  tax  for  which  one  gets  imme- 
diately so  visible  a  quid  pro  quo.  And  that  there  is  no  time  to  lose, 
you  know  even  better  than  I.  It  is  sheer  good  luck  that  the  Majestic 
Building  happens  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  street  it  is,  instead  of  on 
the  other,  where  it  would  have  blocked  the  plan;  or  that  a  building 
like  the  Brown  Hotel  is  not  where  the  Plymouth  is;  or  that  the  old 
fire-gutted  theater  has  not  yet  been  replaced  by  a  costly  structure  that 
would  have  made  the  plan  discouragingly  expensive.  If  you  do  not 
carry  it  out  now,  you  never  will. 

I  ask  you  to  consider  for  a  moment  what  other  cities  are  doing, 
that  you  may  realize  the  need  of  courage  and  loyal  public  spirit  if 
Denver  is  not  to  be  left  behind.  The  Cleveland  "group  plan"  now 
well  under  way,  involves  the  acquisition  of  several  acres  of  land,  the 
mere  purchase  and  improvement  of  which  comes  to  $3,374,780.  In 
addition  to  this,  however,  it  includes  as  a  necessary  feature  the  con- 
struction of  public  and  semi-public  buildings,  such  as  a  City  Hall, 
a  Court  House,  a  Public  Library,  a  new  Station  and  a  Post  Office  at 
a  cost  estimated  as  upwards  of  thirteen  millions  additional  for  the 
buildings  alone.  In  St.  Louis  it  is  proposed  to  open  a  parkway  the 
width  of  the  block  from  Thirteenth  to  Fourteenth  Street,  and  extend- 
ing in  length  the  several  blocks  from  Olive  Street  to  Clark  Avenue, 
in  order  that  the  City  Hall  may  face  it  with  the  new  Four  Courts 
opposite,  and  at  one  end  the  Public  Library.  I  cannot  name  the  fig- 
ures, but  certainly  the  land  must  cost  more  than  is  needed  here.  And 
in  St.  Paul,,  where  there  has  been  lately  built  a  beautiful  new  State 
Capitol,  a  plan  has  been  devised  to  open  a  vista  of  it  from  the  busi- 
ness district,  and  to  bring  it  into  relation  with  the  street  plat  of  the 
city,  by  the  construction  of  a  broad  avenue  down  to  the  Seven  Cor- 
ners, of  an  avenue  and  viaduct  at  an  angle  such  as  is  offered  here, 
and  of  a  parkway  four  hundred  feet  wide,  and  at  a  similar  angle  ex- 
tending to  the  old  Capitol.  The  land  alone  for  this  will  cost  a  full 
$2,000,000,  and  it  involves  also  very  heavy  expense  for  construction. 

9 


10 


I  believe  that  Denver  will  not  let  St.  Paul  outdo  it,  especially  as 
your  city  has  one  of  the  smallest  public  debts  of  any  city  in  the 
country. 

You  have  another  thing,  however,  more  necessary  than  money, 
because  it  is  the  source  of  money.  You  have  the  courage,  and  the 
enterprise,  and  the  aspiration — the  Denver  spirit.  This  will  do  the 
work.  This  alone  is  needed;  and  if  the  citizens  will  show  it  now, 
that  Denver  spirit  will  write  itself  on  the  city  map,  so  that  none  who 
come  after  can  fail  to  see  it. 

As  a  second  division  of  my  report,  I  want  to  make  some  sug- 
gestions regarding  the  parks  and  bouleyards.  I  shall  not  go  into  this 
subject  with  great  thoroughness,  but  in  discussing  the  possibilities 
for  enhancing  the  city's  beauty,  it  would  not  do  to  ignore  entirely 
the  claims  of  these — usually  the  most  prominent — aesthetic  assets 
of  a  city. 

The  parks  of  Denver  may  be  divided  into  three  general  classes: 
City  Park,  the  people's  pleasure  ground;  Congress  and  Washington 
Parks,  and  Berkeley,  Rocky  Mountain  and  Sloan's  Lakes,  the  scenic 
parks;  and  the  little  parks  or  squares. 

In  City  Park,  with  all  its  undoubted  popularity,  I  find  a  good 
deal  to  criticize.  I  recognize  the  difficulties  under  which  a  park  of 
this  character  must  be  developed  here,  but  the  shortcomings  are  not 
all  due  to  inadequate  rainfall.  The  trees,  for  instance,  are  too  thickly 
planted.  They  not  only  give  an  unpleasantly  crowded  appearance, 
but  I  believe  that  many  of  them  have  insufficient  room,  even  in  your 
climate,  to  develop.  Often,  too,  they  are  planted  too  close  to  the 
road — a  mistake  sometimes  repeated  in  your  streets.  Instead  of  bal- 
ancing on  the  very  edge  of  the  greensward,  they  would  look  better 
and  would  grow  better  with  a  foot  or  two  of  grass  between  tree  and 
curb  line.  1  should  like  to  believe  that  the  City  Park  roads  could 
be  safely  narrowed  by  enough  to  permit  this,  for  that  park  seems 
to  run  to  road  a  great  deal.  Good  park  design  considers  walk  and 
road  a  necessary  evil,  to  be  made  as  inconspicuous  as  may  be,  and 
not  exaggerated.  The  lake  shore  development  in  front  of  the  Casino 

11 


is  capable  of  improvement,  by  an  architectural  treatment  that  would 
be  more  dignified.  The  casual  has  no  place  there.  The  animals  will 
be  removed,  I  hope,  to  the  new  north  tract,  and  the  place  they  now 
occupy  added  to  the  park  proper.  The  Burns  statue,  to  which  a  still 
greater  emphasis  will  be  given  if  the  suggested  entrance  is  secured 
from  Colfax  Avenue,  is  now  surrounded  by  a  carpet  bedding,  that  in 
my  opinion  belongs  to  the  period  of  iron  stags  on  lawns,  and  patent 
rockers  and  plush  albums.  There  are  towns  where  one  would  expect 
that,  but  Denver  is  above  it.  The  terrifying  cannons  that  surround 
this  spot,  guarding  every  way  of  approach,  are  inappropriate  in  a 
sylvan  park  and  as  a  foreground  to  the  memorial  of  Scotland's  far- 
mer poet.  Get  them  away  from  there  whatever  else  you  do.  Some 
of  the  little  triangles  at  street  intersections  would  harbor  them  bet- 
ter. They  are  only  a  jarring  note  where  children  play  and  people 
come  for  rest  and  enjoyment  of  the  beautiful. 

In  regard  to  the  entrance  to  City  Park  from  Colfax  Avenue,  this 
will  be  so  much  a  portion  of  the  park,  that  I  speak  of  it  here,  al- 
though I  shall  take  up  other  park  connections  later.  Such  an  en- 
trance, handsomely  developed,  is  very  much  to  be  desired,  and  I  have 
had  an  opportunity  to  put  on  paper  for  the  Land  Board,  a  design 
suggesting  my  impressions.  In  only  finding  fault  with  City  Park,  I 
would  not  have  you  think  that  my  opinion  of  it  is  all  bad.  There  is 
much  in  it  to  admire;  but  I  was  not  brought  here  to  praise. 

Turning  now  to  the  scenic  parks,  they  offer  views  so  grand  that 
Denver  has  nothing  to  fear  from  any  other  city  in  the  country- 
views  so  noble  that  there  is  very  little  need  of  landscape  work.  One 
does  not  want  to  look  around,  but  off  to  the  mountains,  and  the  best 
that  could  be  done  with  flowers  and  shrubs  and  little  grades,  would 
seem  paltry  and  small  beside  two  hundred  miles  of  snow-topped 
peaks.  Little  money,  therefore,  need  be  expended  on  construction 
in  the  three  new  lake  parks  on  the  North  Side.  Some  roads,  paths, 
and  seats  to  make  the  views  available,  and  provision  for  the  com- 
fort and  convenience  of  those  who  come  to  enjoy  the  scenery  having 
been  arranged,  strictly  landscape  work  may  wait  a  little.  Congress 

12 


Park,  already  surrounded  by  the  gardens  and  lawns  of  fine  residences, 
needs  more  care.  It  is  receiving  this  with  admirable  taste,  and  my 
one  word  of  caution  here  would  be  regarding  the  planting  of  trees 
and  the  building  of  a  shelter.  The  latter  must  be  designed  with  the 
greatest  care  and  given  no  conspicuousness,  and  of  trees  there  is 
need  to  be  very  chary.  The  suggestion  that  I  would  make,  and 
urge,  for  Congress  Park  is  a  better  name  for  it.  Call  it  something 
that  will  tell  the  stranger  to  go  there  for  superb  mountain  views.  A 
happy  thought  was  the  selection  of  Washington  Park  as  a  site  for 
public  golf  links,  considering  the  view  it  offers  and  the  character  of 
the  adjacent  population.  It  will  be  well  to  encourage  here  healthful 
outdoor  exercise  with  the  inspiring  mountain  ranges  so  plainly  vis- 
ible. With  the  park  areas  already  secured,  and  those  of  which  the 
purchase  has  been  decided  upon,  Denver  will  be  pretty  well  provided 
with  large  parks.  I  have  no  additions  to  suggest,  unless  it  be  one 
to  the  extreme  east,  to  care  for  the  growing  population  in  that  di- 
rection as  Washington  Park  does  in  the  south. 

In  regard  to  the  small  parks  or  squares,  there  is  a  widespread 
demand  for  more  of  them.  My  recommendation,  however,  is  the  in- 
crease of  the  utility  of  those  you  already  have,  and  the  utilization  of 
many  of  the  little  triangles  and  waste  spaces  at  the  intersection  of 
irregularly  platted  streets.  These  are  to  be  found  in  considerable 
numbers  just  where  they  will  do  most  good.  They  can  be  developed 
at  a  very  small  part  of  the  expense  that  squares  would  demand,  and 
they  would  turn  to  good  account  what  is  now  waste  ground,  instead 
of  withdrawing  building  lots  from  the  market.  The  block  parks,  on 
the  other  hand,  while  pleasant  to  the  eyes  of  those  who  live  directly 
around  them,  or  who  happen  to  pass  them,  have  no  essential  connec- 
tion with  the  city  plan  and  must  always  appear  more  or  less  acci- 
dental and  haphazard. 

As  to  the  development  to  be  given  to  the  small  parks,  there  is 
a  distinct  need  in  Denver  of  real  play  grounds.  The  idea  that  a 
vacant  lot,  even  after  the  name  "park"  has  been  attached  to  it,  is 
playground  enough,  is  not  in  line  with  modern  ideas.  With  you,  such 

13 


provision  is  rendered  further  inadequate  by  the  fact  that  if  it  is  un- 
planted,  it  is  a  field  of  dust;  while  if  sown  to  grass,  it  must  be  so 
constantly  watered  during  the  summer  that  it  will  be  nearly  all  the 
time  too  wet  for  play.  To  make  real  paygrounds  out  of  block  parks, 
when  such  use  is  demanded  by  their  environment,  you  should  have 
some  sand  piles  and  a  wading  pool  for  the  little  children,  simple  out- 
door gymnastic  apparatus,  and  a  shelter  building  that  would  contain 
a  public  comfort  station.  In  all  of  these  small  parks,  I  would  recom- 
mend, too,  a  freer  use  of  shrubbery.  I  doubt  if  these  changes  would 
add  a  single  cent  to  your  maintenance  charges,  while  the  little  they 
would  cost  as  an  "improvement"  would  be  amply  justified  by  the 
larger  utility  secured. 

The  development  of  the  waste  spaces  and  triangles  formed  by 
the  intersection  of  irregular  street  plattings  is  no  difficult  matter,  and 
will  do  much  to  add  to  the  city's  beauty.  They  are  of  varying  size 
and  various  possibilities.  These  are  the  most  fitting  sites  for  civic 
sculpture,  of  which — it  must  never  be  forgotten — quantity  is  a  far 
less  desirable  attribute  than  quality.  In  this  regard,  I  have  no  doubt 
the  Art  Commission  will  be  Denver's  invaluable  defender.  Other  of 
these  spaces  may  be  neatly  curbed  with  concrete — some  of  them  to 
become  isles  of  safety,  bearing  a  lighting  standard  and  raised  to 
make  a  platform  a  few  inches  above  the  pavement.  With  the  growth 
of  traffic,  the  need  of  these  will  be  felt  increasingly.  Others,  of  larger 
area,  may  be  planted  with  low,  native  shrubs  and  evergreens,  at  no 
large  cost  either  for  improvement  or  for  maintenance,  and  to  the 
great  betterment  of  the  aspect  of  the  street. 

I  wish  before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  parks,  to  express  a  hope 
that  the  water  company  may  be  persuaded  to  screen  with  poplars 
the  tank  on  the  bluff  south  of  the  Country  Club,  and  then  to  construct 
a  public  drive  and  walk  to  the  summit  of  the  knoll — a  most  attrac- 
tive outlook  that,  with  the  street  development  of  the  surrounding 
tract,  would  surely  become  a  favorite  spot  from  which  to  view  moun- 
tains and  city,  watch  the  sunset,  and  get  the  summer  breezes. 

I  come  now  to  boulevards  and  park  connections.    The  most  im- 

14 


portant  improvement  of  this  kind,  at  the  moment,  is  the  Cherry 
Creek  boulevard.  This  is  a  greatly  needed  and  admirable  improve- 
ment that  at  first,  until  it  is  given  suitable  connection  at  either  end, 
will  do  more  for  the  whole  district  south  of  it — by  the  correction 
of  an  eyesore — than  by  its  own  attraction  for  driving.  Between  the 
road  and  the  stream,  or  the  stream's  bed,  there  should  be  a  liberal 
planting  of  shrubbery,  in  which  native  hardy  stock  may  be  freely 
used.  If  through  this  planting,  or  at  the  edge  of  the  road,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  carry  a  current  of  water,  this  will  prove  a  pleasant  feature 
in  the  landscape  development  and  a  great  practical  assistance  in  ir- 
rigation. The  mile  of  Cherry  Creek  boulevard,  which  it  is  proposed 
to  construct  at  first,  will  be  too  isolated  to  form  a  strong  attraction 
in  itself  until  properly  connected.  These  connections  should  extend, 
on  the  one  end  to  the  Fourteenth  Street  Viaduct,  and  on  the  other  to 
at  least  the  grounds  of  the  Country  Club,  and  the  extensions  ought 
to  be  added  as  quickly  as  possible.  Cherry  Creek  would  then  form 
a  link  in  that  boulevard  system  which  Denver  must  steadily  work 
toward,  as  the  opening  of  new  thoroughfares  and  the  development  of 
new  territory  makes  it  possible. 

Beginning  at  the  City  Hall,  there  should  be  a  continuous  park- 
drive,  by  Cherry  Creek,  to  the  Country  Club;  thence,  by  the  Country 
Club  street  platting,  to  High  Street,  to  Congress  Park,  and  then  to 
City  Park.  From  City  Park,  the  Mountview  Boulevard,  stretching 
straight  away  eastward,  should  have  proper  development  by  means 
of  parking,  and  to  that  end  it  may  be  put  under  the  control  of  the 
Park  Commission — as  all  the  strictly  park  connecting  boulevards 
ought  to  be,  since  they  are  essential  features  of  a  park  system.  If 
another  park  is  reserved  further  out  on  the  east  side,  as  I  have  sug- 
gested and  the  growing  population  seems  to  require,  Mountview 
should  be  one  of  the  links  connecting  it  with  City  Park,  and  so  in- 
corporate it  in  the  system.  This  does  not  mean,  of  course,  that  the 
new  park  would  have  to  be  located  directly  on  Mountview;  and  the 
other  streets  to  be  taken  and  boulevarded,  in  order  to  make  a  cir- 
cular drive,  will  depend  on  where  it  is  located.  But  in  all  this  new 

15 


region,  the  city  ought  to  get  strips  that  are  certainly  no  less  than 
one  hundred  feet  wide,  for  its  boulevard  purposes;  and  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  this  part  of  the  city  is  likely  always  to  have  the 
major  part  of  the  driving. 

In  the  other  direction  from  City  Park,  Park  Avenue,  now  ter- 
minating in  a  cul  de  sac,  should  be  opened  to  Colfax,  and  of  the  fur- 
ther connections  of  this  street  I  shall  speak  in  the  next  division  of 
my  Eeport. 

South  from  the  Cherry  Creek  Boulevard,  there  should  be  a  boule- 
vard to  Washington  Park,  following  High,  or  York,  or  University 
Avenue,  and  so  leading  down  to  University  Park.  The  exact  street 
to  be  used  here  may  be  determined  by  local  conditions,  so  long  as  it 
is  on  the  ridge  commanding  the  view  of  the  mountains.  Returning 
(this  whole  drive  forming  an  extra  loop),  use  may  be  made  of  Logan 
Avenue.  This  is  120  feet  wide  south  of  Bayaud  and  should  have  re- 
stored to  it  the  forty  feet  of  center  parking  that  is  said  to  have  been 
in  the  original  deed  of  dedication. 

On  the  North  side,  the  Fourteenth  Street  Viaduct  leads  by  way 
of  Lake  Place  directly  to  Boulevard  F,  which  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant park  connections  of  the  city,  stretching  straight  to  the  north, 
and  passing  Highland  Park.  This  leads  to  Rocky  Mountain  Lake 
Park.  Then  skirting  the  lake,  with  its  noble  views,  one  may  con- 
tinue west  to  Berkeley  Lake,  or  south  on  Lowell  Boulevard  to  con- 
nect with  Sloan's  Lake.  Both  West  Forty-sixth  and  West  Forty- 
ninth  Avenues  should  be  utilized  for  the  connecting  links  between 
Berkeley  and  Rocky  Mountain  Parks,  in  order  that  a  circular  drive 
may  here  be  possible.  Similarly,  at  Sloan's  Lake  some  streets,  such 
as  Tennyson  and  West  Twenty-sixth  Avenue,  should  be  made  use  of, 
in  order  that  entering  the  Park  by  Lowell  Boulevard,  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  retrace  one's  steps  in  leaving  it.  The  incomplete  de- 
velopment of  all  this  area  makes  easy  the  creation  of  these  and  other 
circular  and  connecting  drives,  so  that  crossing  the  Fourteenth  Street 
Viaduct  one  may  be  able  to  visit  and  circle  the  three  great  scenic 
parks  of  this  side,  touch  two  of  the  smaller  parks,  and  return  again 

16 


to  the  viaduct  without  leaving  the  boulevard,  or  repeating  one's 
course. 

Now  as  to  boulevard  treatment.  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  in 
spite  of  its  designation  as  a  boulevard,  car  tracks  were  on  Lowell.  If 
they  are  to  remain  there  (and  in  boulevarding  West  Forty-sixth 
Avenue/ which  also  has  tracks)  the  tramway  line  should  be  put  at  the 
side  of  the  road — already  amply  wide  for  the  purpose — and  as  far  as 
possible  divided  from  it  and  planted  out,  in  order  that  driving  may  not 
be  interfered  with,  and  that  the  boulevard  may  be  beautified.  Gar- 
dening improvement  of  the  drives  is  an  easy  matter,  with  the  use 
of  conifers  and  shrubs,  but  the  detailing  of  plans  would  make  a  Report 
in  itself.  The  purpose  of  this  record  is  served  in  pointing  out  the 
readiness  with  which  good  boulevard  connections  can  be  established 
and  a  park  system  created  out  of  what  now  are  wholly  separated 
park  units.  Trees  ought,  of  course,  to  be  planted  on  the  selected 
streets,  as  early  as  possible,  in  order  that  they  may  have  a  good  start. 
Otherwise,  there  seems  no  pressing  need  of  haste  beyond  that  invited 
by  the  citizens'  own  eagerness  to  enjoy  the  facilities  that  such  a  sys- 
tem would  offer. 

I  have  only  to  add  that  the  proposed  extensions  and  connections 
do  not  mean  large  expenditure.  The  streets  are  already  there;  only 
now  and  then  is  there  need  of  widening  for  even  a  little  distance, 
and  while  a  very  elaborate  scheme  for  broad  parkways  could  be 
worked  out,  my  judgment  is  that  the  work  I  have  proposed  in  the 
center  of  the  city  is  at  present  much  more  urgent,  and  for  the  ex- 
penditure will  give  better  immediate  results.  Denver,  in  time,  will 
want  the  ornamental  parkways,  and  perhaps  is  ready  now  for  boule- 
vards; but  the  areas  through  which  these  naturally  pass  are  still 
only  sparsely  settled.  The  one  exception  to  that  rule  is  the  short 
space  between  Congress  and  City  Parks,  and  here  any  elaborate  plan 
must  wait  the  decision  of  the  Land  Board  concerning  the  proposed 
entrance  to  City  Park  from  Colfax  Avenue. 

Other  street  changes  form  the  subject  of  the  third  division  of 
my  report.  These  are  easy  to  propose,  but  difficult  and  costly  to 

17 


carry  out;  and  a  vague  dread  that  "city  beautifying"  means  some 
big  plan  for  cutting  great  avenues  through  built-up  districts,  lies 
at  the  root  of  such  notion  as  still  occasionally  persists  that  proposi- 
tions of  the  kind  are  visionary.  There  are  two  questions  that  should 
always  be  asked  regarding  radical  city  improvements.  First,  are 
they  a  good  thing  in  themselves;  second,  are  they  worth  what  they 
would  cost. 

Now,  the  Denver  plan  is  weak  in  through,  arterial,  diagonal  thor- 
oughfares, but  I  am  not  going  to  propose  the  creation  of  any.  I 
would  like,  however,  to  see  a  diagonal  parkway  extended  the  space 
of  the  dozen  blocks  from  the  southeast  portion  of  the  Capitol  grounds 
to  Congress  Park,  opening  the  new  cathedral  on  its  way.  It  would 
bring  the  Park  System  down  town,  and  it  would  make  a  noble  ex- 
tension of  the  central  improvement  scheme,  but  the  question  whether 
it  would  pay  is  one  for  your  real  estate  interests  to  consider.  I  be- 
lieve that  it  probably  would  pay. 

The  extension  of  Broadway  to  Larimer  impresses  me  as  impor- 
tant, not  so  much  for  is  effect  on  the  beauty  of  the  city,  buft  as  a 
very  great  and  constantly  growing  convenience  to  traffic.  Incident- 
ally, the  extension  would  attractively  open  up  the  East  Denver  High 
School.  Broadway  seems  destined  to  increasing  value  as  a  cross- 
town  thoroughfare;  its  continuation  northward  would  make  a  short 
cut  to  a  large  and  well  built-up  section  of  the  city;  and  with  the 
extension  to  the  North  side  of  the  viaduct  at  Twenty-third  Street, 
which  ought  eventually  to  be  made,  it  would  offer  a  very  short  and 
convenient  route  to  a  large  portion  of  that  part  of  the  city. 

Park  Avenue  would  then  become  of  value  as  a  connecting  link, 
and  there  doubtless  would  be  a  justifiable  demand  to  extend  the  im- 
provement, so  that  a  pleasant  park  drive — complementary  to*  that  via 
Cherry  Creek   Viaduct  and   Fourteenth   Street—might   lie  through 
•  Park  Avenue,  over  the  viaduct,  and  to  the  North  Side  parks,  con- 
necting them  thus  with  City  Park  and  the  East  Side  system.   Another 
viaduct  should  be  constructed,  and  I  believe  promptly,  between  Six- 
teenth and  Twenty-third  Streets;  and  it  would  seem  that  the  Tram- 
is 


way  Company  would  consider  its  own  convenience,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  public,  by  the  prompt  construction  of  a  subway  loop  inside 
the  grounds  of  the  Union  Depot. 

As  a  final  section  of  my  Report,  I  want  to  make  a  few  sugges- 
tions concerning  the  development  of  the  aspect  of  the  streets;  though 
I  have  spoken  elsewhere  -of  parkway  and  boulevard  treatment,  and 
of  the  improvement  of  the  triangles  and  waste  spaces  at  many  of 
your  street  intersections. 

The  commendable  movement  for  artistic  street  lighting  is  ev- 
idence of  a  desire  for  handsome  streets,  and  of  a  realization  of  the 
importance  of  this  feature  in  them.  As  the  streets  are  improved, 
and  even  more  rapidly,  the  wires  ought  to  go  underground.  In  this 
respect,  Denver  is  behind  many  cities  of  its  own  size  in  the  East. 
If  the  municipality  itself  does  not  care  to  undertake  the  construction 
of  conduits,  it  should  insist  upon  the  corporations  building  a  certain 
number  of  miles  of  conduit  each  year.  This  requirement  imposes 
no  unreasonable  hardship  upon  the  public  utility  companies,  and  it 
results  in  very  quickly  ridding  the  business  section  of  the  disfigur- 
ing and  dangerous  wires,  and  in  gradually  extending  their  removal 
to  the  residential  districts.  On  some  of  the  broader  streets,  to  re- 
turn to  the  matter  of  lighting,  Denver  would  do  well,  I  believe,  to  try 
the  Buenos  Ayres  system — center  lights  on  ornamental  poles,  each 
on  a  low  pedestal  that  serves  as  a  small  isle  of  safety.  Streets  thus 
lighted,  and  many  cities  furnish  scattered  examples  of  them,  are 
handsome  by  day  and  picturesque  by  night,  while  the  isles  effectively 
divide  the  travel  into  opposing  but  never  conflicting  streams.  Where 
this  is  done,  a  clock  can,  at  intervals,  be  made  an  attractive  and  use- 
ful adjunct  to  the  pole,  and  Denver  seems  not  to  have  many  street 
clocks.  Public  comfort  stations  are  also  an  exceedingly  desirable 
feature  in  the  street  development  in  business  districts,  especially. 
But  in  the  United  States,  these  are  expected  to  have  no  conspicuous- 
ness  from  the  street. 

On  residential  thoroughfares,  the  trees  are  a  very  important  fea- 
ture, and  I  would  urge  the  employment  of  a  city  forester.  This  of- 

19 


ficial  may  be  at  the  head  of  a  separate  bureau,  he  may  be  under  the 
control  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  or  he  may  be  an  employee  of 
the  Park  Department.  The  thing  that  counts  is  to  have  some  experi- 
enced man  responsible  for  the  setting  out  and  the  caro  of  the  street 
trees.  This  is  important  in  every  city — and  on  the  whole,  a  separate 
official  for  this  work  has  usually  given  the  best  results.  With  you, 
it  is  especially  important  since  your  trees  need  so  much  care. 

Various  conditions  here  invite  the  suggestion  that  the  city  for- 
ester be  given  a  good  deal  of  responsibility.  Because  your  trees  have 
to  be  freely  watered,  his  department  might  well  be  charged  also  with 
the  maintenance  of  the  parking — that  is,  the  strip  of  turf  between 
walk  and  curb  line — on  all  residential  streets,  except  the  boulevards, 
where  a  majority  of  the  property  owners  petition  for  such  care,  the 
city  assessing  -the  cost  of  this  on  the  property.  In  other  words,  I 
recommend  for  Denver  a  city  forester,  who  shall  have  control  of  the 
trees  on  all  streets  that  are  not  under  the  care  of  the  Park  Commis- 
sion; whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  plant  trees  in  front  of  vacant  or  other  . 
land  where  trees  have  not  been  planted;  who  shall  conserve  uniform- 
ity in  the  planting  on  each  separate  street;  whose  employees  shall1 
cut  out  the  dead  wood,  shall  trim  the  trees  and  water  them ;  and  who, 
on  petition  of  a  majority  of  the  property  owners  of  a  street,  shall! 
take  care  also  of  the  parking,  the  cost  of  this  extra  service — which 
he  should  be  able  to  give  more  economically  than  could  individuals — 
being  assessed  back  upon  the  property.  This  plan  would  provide  in 
a  satisfactory  way  for  the  care  of  those  breaks  in  the  parking  in 
front  of  vacant  property  that  belongs  to  absent  owners,  which  are 
an  eyesore  and  nuisance  to  well  built-up  districts,  while  it  would 
put  no  burden  on  outlying  property  in  sections  not  yet  built  up. 

A  word  remains  to  be  said  as  to  what  the  citizens  themselves 
can  do  on  their  home  property  to  make  a  more  beautiful  Denver. 
Upon  their  lawns,  they  deserve  the  sincerest  congratulations.  With 
all  the  handicap  that  insufficient  rainfall  gives,  the  citizens  here  have 
made  "the  Denver  lawn"  a  synonym  for  beautiful  turf.  Around  many 
of  the  houses,  there  well  might  be  now,  in  addition  to  the  lawns, 

20 


some  use  of  shrubbery,  to  wed  the  house  and  ground,  and  break  the 
hard  angle  made  by  a  wall  rising  sheer  from  the  grass.  Shrubs  are 
comparatively  easy  to  take  care  of,  and  give  much  pleasure,  as  well 
as  adding  beauty.  Window  boxes,  too,  give  a  touch  of  color  and 
beauty  to  even  the  smallest  house,  and  while  they  dress  the  street, 
they  repay  their  owner  in  direct  returns  of  pleasure. 

The  billboards  we  have  always  with  us,  and  I  am  sorry  that  I 
have  ho  remedy  to  suggest.  The  restriction  of  their  height,  and  the 
requirement  that  it  shall  be  possible  to  see  beneath  them,  and  that 
they  shall  be  placed  a  certain  number  of  feet  back  from  the  street, 
are  regulations  that  lessen  some  of  their  worst  evils.  Sky  signs  and 
signs  painted  on  building  ends  are  appearing,  but  they  are  a  more 
grievous  city  wrong  here  than  in  most  places.  I  have  found  no  one 
in  Denver  who  does  not  love  the  mountains  and  consider  their  beauty 
the  great  aesthetic  asset  of  the  city ;  and  yet  such  signs  are  to  be  seen, 
so  hung  or  painted  as  to  blot  out  some  of  the  mountain  view  or  to 
lessen  its  attraction.  I  cannot  tell  how  many  times  a  day  I  have  gone 
to  my  window  in  the  hotel  simply  to  look  at  the  hills.  Every  time 
I  have  had  to  read  the  word  "Orpheum" — not  a  bad  name  in  itself — 
until  I  have  grown  very  tired  of  it.  I  suppose  in  my  mind's  eye  I 
never  shall  see  the  Denver  view  of  the  Eocky  Mountain  Kange  with- 
out a  foreground  of  the  old  brick  wall  with  that  word  on  it.  But 
quite  likely,  that  sign  of  itself  has  never  led  anybody  to  go  to  the 
theater,  and  it  seems  to  me  poor  business  policy  for  the  citizens  to. 
allow  their  great  view,  the  view  that  draws  the  tourists,  to  be  marred 
by  such  thoughtlessness.  It  is  an  economic  waste,  and  the  sign  I  name 
is  a  type  of  others. 

The  smoke  is  shutting  out  the  mountains  much  more  seriously 
than  do  the  signs,  besides  doing  other  damage.  There  is  "business" 
— the  great  justifier — back  of  that.  But  volumes  of  very  black  smoke 
mean  poor  stoking  as  surely  as  they  do  soft  coal,  and  that  also  is 
economic  waste.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  mechanical  ingenuity  will 
some  day  create  a  device  that  will  stoke  with  the  patient  persistence 
and  care  of  a  model  employee.  Until  it  does,  the  managers  of  Den- 

21 


vcr  industries  should  make  use  of  such  mechanical  helps  as  they  can 
get,  and  then  keep  a  closer  watch  on  their  firemen.  The  municipal- 
ity can  give  aid  in  this  matter  by  enacting  an  ordinance  limiting 
the  number  of  minutes  in  an  hour  during  which  dense  smoke  may 
pour  from  a  chimney,  by  creating  the  position  of  inspector  to  watch 
the  smoke,  and  by  levying  fines  for  violation  of  the  law.  I  believe 
public  sentiment  would  support  the  ordinance,  as  it  does  in  other 
cities. 

In  the  course  of  this  long  Eeport,  I  have  found  not  a  little  to 
criticize  and  much  to  suggest.  The  whole  study  has  been  of  exceed-" 
ing  interest  because  Denver  is  so  beautiful  already,  so  marvelously 
developed  in  its  short  life,  so  well  worth  saving  and  making  the  very 
most  of.  The  city  is  obviously  at  the  parting  of  the  ways.  It  has 
reached  the  point  where  its  further  growth  is  going  to  reduce  it  to 
the  level  of  other  cities  and  make  it  commonplace;  or  else  is  going 
to  turn  to  account  the  city's  natural  opportunities,  enhance  its  beauty 
and  attractiveness,  make  it  beautiful,  noble,  splendid — one  of  the' 
fair  cities  of  all  the  world.  Happily,  the  choice  lies  with  the  peo- 
ple of  Denver;  with  its  own  citizens  and  its  own  officers.  They  know 
which  course  will  pay  best  in  the  long  run,  and  which  will  make  life 
most  worth  living  for  themselves,  and  will  make  their  own  homes 
pleasantest.  The  spirit  that  has  made  Denver  what  it  is — the  "smile 
and  push" — will  carry  her  on  to  better  achievement,  and  will  dare, 
as  it  already  desires,  to  make  her  beautiful. 

I  have  only  a  word  to  add.  In  taking  up  the  work,  concentrate 
on  the  immediately  necessary;  and  do  the  thing  that  is  worth  while, 
instead  of  puttering  at  half-way  measures. 

Very  respectfully, 

CHARLES  MULFORD  ROBINSON. 
Denver,  January  18,  190G. 


22 


Extract  from  an  address  by  Mayor  Robert  W.  Speer  at  the  Tax- 
payers' Public  Improvement  Banquet,  given  by  the  Real  Estate^ 
Exchange,  February  1,  1906. 

"To  carry  out  this  plan,  what  would  be  the  cost  of  land  and 
improvements  ? 

"Estimates  have  been  made  by  a  number  of  our  leading  real 
estate  men,  and  they  vary  from  $2,750,000  to  $3,250,000.  I  think  it 
is  safe  to  place  the  value  at  $3,000,000. 

"How  can  it  be  paid  for?  General  city  bonds  cannot  be  issued 
for  a  longer  time  than  15  years,  which  would  make  this  expense  a 
burden  on  our  people.  I  am  satisfied  that  it  would  have  to  be  pur- 
chased by  the  East  Denver  park  district,  which  includes  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  real  estate  assessments  of  the  city.  This  park  district 
has  its  parks  free  of  debt,  and  they  were  secured  by  the  city  at  large 
before  the  districts  were  created — City  park,  Congress  park,  Curtis 
park  and  Fuller  park  are  within  its  boundaries. 

"Park  district  and  special  assessment  bonds  are  obligations  of 
districts — not  of  the  city,  and  the  time  limitation  of  state  and  city 
bonds  does  not  apply,  but  is  governed  by  the  city  charter,  which  can 
be 'amended  at  the  May  election,  so  as  to  permit  the  issue  of  50-year 
bonds,  with  payment  of  principal  to  commence  in  five  or  ten  years 
after  the  bond  issue.  This-  would  so  distribute  the  expense  as  to  be 
a  burden  on  no  one,  and  permit  those  who  come  after  us  to  share  in 
payment,  as  well  as  in  the  enjoyment  of  this  improvement. 

"What  would  it  cost  you  ?  The  park  board  would  issue  bonds  for 
$3,000,000  and  assess  the  property  benefited  that  amount.  The  real 
value  of  the  property  in  the  district  is  over  $120,000,000,  so  that  it 
would  require  an  average  assessment  of  2 1/2  per  cent,  on  value  of  all 
property  in  district,  with  50  years  in  which  to  pay  for  it;  but  the 
park  board  must  make  the  assessments  in  accordance  with  benefits. 

23 


Three  zones  might  be  made — one  of  the  property  fronting  the  im- 
provement, which  would  have  the  highest  assessment  rate — say  5  or  6 
per  cent.;  another,  including  the  territory  between  Fourteenth  and 
Eighteenth  streets,  Larimer  and  Broadway,  also  all  land  within  one 
block  of  improvement,  with  an  assessment  of  from  3  to  4  per  cent.; 
and  the  third  zone  to  contain  the  balance  of  the  district,  including 
the  residence  sections,  with  an  assessment  of  about  iy2  per  cent.  This 
would  make  the  property  receiving  the  greater  benefit  pay  the  larger 
cost,  while  the  owner  of  a  home  worth  $2,000  would  only  be  assessed 
$30,  with  interest  on  that  amount,  and  have  50  years  in  which  to 
pay  it.  Perhaps  the  best  way  to  make  this  assessment  would  be  by 
the  front  foot  in  each  zone — it  would  produce  the  same  amount,  but 
distribute  it  differently." 


24 


RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

tfeCULATJON  DEPARTMENT 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


UCLA 

INTERLIBRARY  1C 

MHY  20  1974 

AN 

«CJP  AH/C 

nnaotm 

DEC  .'  ?  -97C 

Q 

^•0*.  JB.JOTI 

LD  21-32m-3,'74 
(R7057slO)476 — A-32 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


